James Eadie whisky brand to re-launch with new bottlings

Rupert Patrick, chief executive of James Eadie Ltd and great-great grandson of the founder, is bringing the brand back to life with a selection of single cask and small batch bottlings of James Eadie whiskies

The James Eadie whisky brand is being relaunched by the great-great grandson of the founder, James Eadie.

Rupert Patrick, chief executive of James Eadie Ltd and former commercial director at Diageo, is bringing the brand back to life with a selection of single cask and small batch bottlings of James Eadie whiskies.

The bottlings will include malts from Speyside, the Highlands and Islay, with whiskies from Inchgower, Benrinnes, Blair Athol, Caol Ila, Dailuaine and Linkwood.

The James Eadie whisky brand has been in existence more than 160 years.

The new James Eadie Ltd company was launched in 2014.

It plans an initial limited production of 10,000 bottles from single malts aged from 8-15 years old from eight distilleries, with an initial focus on exports to Denmark, Holland, Austria and France.

Patrick said: “I’ve known about my great-great grandfather’s whisky for many years, but until now I’ve never had the chance to realise my ambition to get the brand going again.

“Demand for good quality single malts is growing at over six per cent worldwide and consumers are prepared to look beyond the well-known brands to find something new.

“Some of the distilleries we’ve chosen casks from are hidden gems - I’m forever learning about the breadth and depth of quality in Scotch Whisky and delighted to have the opportunity to take these to market.”

Patrick is also a co-founder and director in online start-up WhiskyInvestDirect, which recently raised more than £1 million in an angel investor-led crowdfunding drive and aims to raise £2 million to fund expansion.

WhiskyInvestDirect plans to build up an inventory of whiskies as well as launching new brands and resurrect the James Eadie whisky brand.